I kept getting these calls on my cell from +331 which is fishy enough in itself right? I finally decided to answer it. This guy with a South African accent says "I am calling to let you know about a credit card with 0% interest with a beginning credit limit of $3500."

RED FLAG GOES UP!

For one, I have less than pristine credit and for two I am wondering where in the heck these people got my number from? So, I decide to play along for a bit. I ask, "What is the annual fee on this card?" To which he answers, "There is no recurring fee, there is just a one time activation fee of $97 and then you get a $100 gift voucher to make up for that." "Then you can purchase anything from our catalog for up to $3500."

MORE RED FLAGS!

I say (still playing along) "What is your website address so I can take a look and consider this?" He says "www.internationalplatinum.com." I have to have him repeat the part after "international" about 3 or 4 times because I can't understand him. Each time he says "ok, I will repeat it one more time." LOL Like he is doing me a big favor. I am still cracking up over that. Anyway, I get to the spammy looking site and I say, "OK, well I will take a look at it online and if I decide to do it, I see I can apply right here." He then says "Oh no! You can't do that, I will just wait on the phone while you look so you can apply now on the phone."

RED FLAG AGAIN!

High pressure turns me off immediately. (Not that I was ever turned on to begin with.)

I then tell him, I really have to have a lot of time to consider this offer and he proceeds to try to keep me on the phone so I hung up. The guy immediately calls back; needless to say I did not answer.

If you truly want to confirm a scam, do a google search as follows: International Platinum Credit Card Scam. Make sure you include the word "scam" in your search. Here are the Google search results for that phrase:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&rlz=1C1CHMA_enUS352US352&q=international+platinum+credit+card+scam&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Check out Rip Off Report and Who Called Us as well as the Better Business Bureau.

It is a ploy, scam, spam and a bunch of hooey. It angers me that they prey on people with bad credit and especially during the holidays when people are most vulnerable.

I don't care if it is a shady used car salesman standing right in front of you or some foreign sounding voice over the phone. Never let someone pressure you into a scam of any kind! Don't fall for it!

This is the first of a series of articles about common homeschool objections. A lot of people assume that it costs a lot of money to homeschool effectively. Most public schools receive approximately $8,000 to $10,000 per child from state and federal funding and private schools can run anywhere from $3,000 on up to $20,000 or $30,000 per year. People automatically associate higher spending with better quality.

There is a wide range of curriculum options available. Self-contained curriculum like Weaver, Abeka, Sonlight, Alpha-Omega, ACE and others can run as low as $350 or $400 per year, per child and go up as high as a person can afford to spend. There are reading curriculum options that can run as high as several hundred dollars per program and there are those which run as low as $15.00.





Time4Learning offers an effective and inexpensive online learning option. I use this for my kids. They supply lessons for history, science, reading, language arts and math. This program is good for challenged, average or gifted learners. It is only $19.95 per month for the first child and $14.95 for each additional child in the family. They currently offer courses for age 3 to 8th grade students. I hope they expand to high school some day. My kids look forward to the lessons each day, I can log in anytime and see what and how they are doing, they can work independently and it provides a record should you live in a state where you are required to keep records. For the low cost, can you really ask for anything more?

There are also free options. The library is free, you can borrow resources from friends and family, you can find a wide range of resources for free online and you can be creative and use what you have.. whether indoors or outdoors. Don Potter offers a ton of free education resources for free on his site at Don Potter.net.

The best thing about homeschooling is that you can teach your child for free or spend as much as you want to spend. If you choose to cut corners on curriculum costs and your child has an interest in some extra curricular activity, you can afford to spend more on their other interests and activities and customize it all to the individual child.

With all of the low-cost and free options, anyone can afford to homeschool! :D

Do you think it is possible to give a child a great education with little or no money? If so, why or why not?

During this holiday season, the United States is in a recession. The official unemployment rate is above 10%, but some are reporting that as many as 17% of US workers are currently without jobs. What happens to the mentality of an individual or family or nation during times of economic hardship? How do their priorities shift and how do their spending habits change?

 

Let's face it, during times of plenty, most people become spoiled brats. They expect to have all they need want and have it yesterday. They run up credit cards, buy homes and vehicles they cannot afford, don't save money and just live with the mantra “Eat, Drink and Be Merry.” They become self-absorbed and consumed with accumulating material goods.

Back in 1986, I spent 3 months in Brazil. I met a 14 year old boy who had lived on the streets of Brazil for most of his life. He started asking me questions about my life, home and belongings in the US. Once he found out I owned more than one TV, he was convinced I was rich! I gave away 3 meals at McDonald's in Sao Paulo before I finally ordered my food to go so I could eat in the car. These were children who were begging for food and not for money or other goods. How many times have you sat down in your local McDonald's and had some child come up and beg you for your food? I dare say if you have had this happen, the child was quickly reprimanded by his parents if you were here in the US. ;) I went into a home where a woman just had dirt floors, scrap wood for walls, a makeshift stove and one mattress on the floor where about 5 people slept. I did not even grasp the meaning of poor until I met these people.

It is sad that so many people are out of work and it seems that we may be headed for inflation with the price of goods rising faster than the per capita income. However, there are many things we can gain as individuals, families and a nation during this time. People have already started eliminating frivolous spending and services and products they once thought necessary. People are starting to feel more pressured to save for the storms of life because the rainy days are already here. We are spending more time with family and friends doing inexpensive activities. Building relationships has become more important to us than in past years. I have even noticed neighbors who are starting to know one another again. During the economic boom, we because so self sufficient instead of being inter-dependent with others.

Have you shifted your priorities and spending habits? If so, how? Are you thankful for anything that has taken place as a result of this shift in our economy? Are you planning to do anything different this holiday season as a result of having less cash to spend? Maybe start a new tradition?